Mechanic

Indeed it is.

^ I'd need you to be a little more specific.

It has nothing to do with dentistry.

^ Nope.

Ok, give this one your best guesses...

It's a vibrator, aptly named, "The Cone". I found it after much searching on google. The description reads as follows: Truly innovative sex toy design, The Cone vibrator's counter-intuitive shape invites you to re-think how you want to use a vibrator. The Cone is another example of merging good design (high quality silicone, powerful motor) and smart marketing, which has allowed the product to quickly make its way into the shopping carts and bedrooms of sex toy fans around the globe.

That's one of the funniest things I've seen in a while. Robb, with that expression, made a PERFECT Frankenstein. Thank you GJ!!!

Name: John Age: 45 What is your roller coaster count? 58 What is your home park? SFDK What is the nearest big city? Sacramento (if that counts as a "big city") What is your occupation? Automotive technician (Mechanic) About how many times a year do you visit a park (including your home park)? It depends on the year, but at least 10 and sometimes as many as 20+. About how many times a year do you travel to a park that is not your home park? Again, it fluctuates, but usually 5-10 times on average. When you travel do you go primarily to amusement parks or do you also try and hit other sites? We often incorporate other sites or attractions into our trips to parks. What is the farthest you’ve traveled to go to an amusement park? British Columbia, Canada. Does roller coaster time get in the way of family time? (Do you choose to miss your children’s or family’s sporting events, holidays, birthdays, etc…) No. However, we sometimes make a birthday, or anniversary, a reason for visiting a park. Do you have any other major hobbies? Yes. Dirt bikes, snowmobiles, my kids' sports and activities, etc. Do you get feelings of sadness in the offseason? Do you even have an offseason? Do you travel during the offseason? No to feelings of sadness. Our off season for the parks closest to home is fairly short, and we can always travel a relatively short distance to southern California where the parks are open year round. We travel when it's feasible and fits our budget, so yes, we sometimes travel in what would be the coaster off season. Do you consider yourself friends with someone you met who works at an amusement park? (Or reverse it, if you work or worked and an amusement park have you made friends with enthusiasts?) No. Although I have met park employees outside of their time at work, and found them to be friendly, I don't have any close personal friends that work in the amusement industry. Would it bother you to go to an amusement park by yourself? I don't think it would, but I never have. Enjoying time there with family and friends is primarily why I like to go to parks. Have you gone to an amusement park by yourself? If so have you ever ran into another enthusiast and tagged along with them? No. Do you find it easy to make friends with other enthusiasts? I guess I'd need a better definition of "friends" to answer this properly. I don't have any trouble making enjoyable conversation with most enthusiasts I've met, and I've enjoyed the company of any number of enthusiasts, but none have become what I would consider a close "friend". How do you get your coaster news? For the most part, here on TPR. How many different forum sites do you regularly post on? Just here on TPR. If there was a poll that asked a large pool of enthusiasts what their favorite roller coaster is, what do you think would be the top 3 responses be for wood? And for steel? In no particular order, for Wood: T-Express, Balder, El Toro. For steel: Expedition GeForce, Bizarro (fka SROS), Millennium Force. Same scenario but for amusement parks, what would be the top 3? Tokyo Disney Sea, WDW Magic Kingdom, Universal Studios Florida. Have you ever “stole a kid” to get a credit on a kiddie coaster? I have my own kids, but even at that, I'm not much of a credit whore and usually don't ride kiddie coasters. Most of the kiddie coaster credits that I do have were obtained when I was a kid. Do you cut other categories out of your budget to make trips to parks? (Entertainment, fast food, holidays, tobacco or alcohol, etc…) I consider trips to parks entertainment, and budget them accordingly. Before you visit a new park do you research the park finding the best way to navigate the park, get the best deals, or what days to go? Yes. I like to be as prepared as I reasonably can. Do you feel the roller coaster enthusiast community is a warm and accepting community, or a negative and discouraging community? I think I've seen both sides to some degree, but far more of the former than the latter. Robb, Elissa, and most of the other people that I've become somewhat familiar with from reading and posting here on TPR, have been very open, friendly and helpful. Do you like to talk about your hobby with people who are not roller coaster enthusiasts? To the extent that they're interested, I'll discuss trips to parks, and offer whatever tips I can if they ask me about planning a trip, but it's not often a topic of conversation for me away from the forums here.

^ That actually raises my next question. I was looking into day/night combo tickets for us, but I also wanted to get front of the line passes. I didn't see an option for day/night tickets with front of the lines privileges available. Do you think front of the line passes would be all that necessary for Thursday the 29th? (Or possibly even Wednesday the 28th, since our schedule is still pretty flexible at the moment.) Thanks.

I guess that answers my question. It looks like it will be USH for us.

A hat that Mark Mothersbaugh would love!

Hello Robb, Elissa, and the rest of TPR. The wife and I will be in Los Angeles at the end of this month for a few days. We'll be going to the DLR and would also like to take in either Knott's Scary Farm or Universal's Halloween Horror Nights. We have both been to Knott's several times, but never during the Halloween season. We have never been to Universal at all. It would likely be Thursday the 29th that we would go to either Universal or Knotts. With those things in mind, can you give me the Pros and Cons to both events? I'm hoping that the experience of TPR members can help us to decide which we should go to. Thank You.

One would think that whatever caused such significant damage to the brake fins would have also caused some degree of damage to the underside of the train. Whether or not that damage is repairable isn't something any of us not directly involved in assessing the damage is likely to know.

14/20 - With very few guesses. Not bad for me.

Satisfaction - Devo

^ Yes, I'm sure it would fit, but does the world really need another Pony Express?

Medusa at SFDK. 3 times in a row without having to get off! This was last night during the park's season passholder event.

Thank you for the awesome Valuable Big Mike Reader button Big Mike! The unused Mikestery card from Sommerland that you included was also a very nice surprise. Knowing that my travels this coaster season wouldn't be taking me anywhere near the remaining parks on the Big Mike schedule, I could do nothing but stare longingly at the pictures posted by those lucky readers that actually found the hidden cards. But now... I have my very own Mikestery card! It really did bring a smile to my face. I'll post a picture soon. Thank you very much Big Mike. You rock! P.S. I completely understand that the Mikestery card now in my possession cannot be used for the Big Mike contest. I'm just happy to have it. Good luck to all those playing the contest this year!

Hurt - 9 inch nails

8/20, and I wouldn't have even gotten half that many if I didn't read TPR trip reports.

I somehow missed this until I saw the link in the West Coast trip update. Great podcast. I really enjoyed it.

Thanks again to TPR and SFDK for the awesome time we had at Bay Area Bash. The report brought back a lot of great memories from that unforgettable day and night.

You got it. For what it's worth, the actual name is a "rotor hub".

See if you can figure out WTF this is.

Ever heard the saying, "There's no such thing as bad publicity."?